48th TWIGS Dinner

Firoz and Sangeeta's house
Tasted Saturday, March 25, 2017 by fizz with 312 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 96 Points

France, Champagne

12% alc.
A blend of Chardonnay (31%), Pinot Noir (48%) and Meunier (21%) coming from 17 different growths.
This bottle was the most youthful of recent experience. A deep straw colour with decent mousse and persistent, fine beading. Toast and honey, baked apple, cinnamon, hint of ginger. This smelt pretty fresh actually. Complete absence of any oxidative aromas. The palate has the typical, mouth filling energy one expects of Krug. Offers up lemon marmalade on toast, cumquat, grilled nuts, and a creamy/mineral driven texture. Delivers well on that trademark intensity.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2007) Les Pierrières 94 Points

France, Champagne

12.5% alc. Disgorged 2011.
Mid-straw colour. Plenty of fine beading.
The nose is so captivating. White flowers, white pepper, clove, apple. There's an oxidative component here too, that blends in so well. The palate explodes with freshness and vitality. Oxidative complexity, aldehyde, layers of citrus fruit. The acids are kept in check, the rich, mineral laden, mid palate flavours fan out on the long finish.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 2 (2 Notes)

2016 La Violetta Wines Riesling Das Sakrileg

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern

Served blind.
Pale straw. Herbaceous, grassy, white flowers. Palate was light to medium bodied, with a punch of citrus acidity - grapefruit and lime. And then there's a kind of creamy, beeswax texture too. It was evolving in the glass and eventually revealed some rose petal aromas. The finish suggested an early drinking window.
This had the group guessing. Everything except Riesling was suggested!
Turns out that the complexity and uniqueness may be related to the winemaking. Fermented wild in old oak barrels, matured on unsulphured lees, partial malolactic fermentation, and a dash of Gewürztraminer thrown in as well.
12% alc. Screw cap.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

Served blind.
Immediate appeal and recognition. Golden hues. Aromas of butter, caramel, nuts, toast. There's power and density in the palate, which comes from a heady mix of mature fruit, saw-dust oak and that alcohol. It doesn't taste hot though. In fact it's well balanced, with a long finish. The acids are incorporated in this sample and the wine is developing well.
It was very representative of the producer.
14.5% alc. Screw cap.
Artwork: Richard Larter, entitled 'Spring Disposition'

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 (7 Notes)

2001 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

Served blind.
Impenetrable centre with a little bricking. Smells of aniseed, dark fruit, cedar and herbs. It's medium bodied and beautifully balanced and weighted. There's pepper, spice, lots of dark berry fruit ("almost jammy"). Finishes with a lick of fine grained tannins that still have a slight puckering effect.
Undoubtably Cabernet. The age, once revealed, was surprising. This bottle had plenty left in the tank. Terrific.
15% alc. Cork.

Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2007 Frankland Estate Olmo's Reward

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

Served blind.
Dark purple. Subdued aroma, initially drew comments like mushroom and vinyl. This cleaned up though and revealed some dark chocolate and black and purple fruits. The medium weight palate was lean yet the tannins made it feel monolithic. It was slightly unbalanced today. I had a chance to taste it the following day and the tannins were more integrated. Perhaps this would benefit from a good decant.
14% alc. Screw cap.
Merlot 46%, Cab Franc 45%, Malbec 9%.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2007 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

Served blind. Decanted.
Very dark appearance. Floral, dark fruits, cassis, bay leaf, herbaceous, eucalyptus. It's medium bodied, and has a nice mix of sweet dark fruits and spice. Tannins are integrating but over time became prominent. They carry the wine in a linear fashion to its long finish. You feel it's only just entering it's long drinking window.
14% alc. Screw cap.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec
Artwork: David Wadelton, entitled 'Nu-Soul'

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2001 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

Served blind. Decanted.
Dark core. Offers up cassis, eucalyptus, sweet black fruits, black olive. Still seems primary. The flavours burst on the medium / full palate. There's power and concentration of flavours here, delivered with restraint. Tannins are supple and integrated, finishing with a gentle grip. Great structure. So well balanced. Widely enjoyed. Has a great future.
14.5% alc. Screw cap.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

Served blind.
Deep core with bricking. Plenty of typicity here with cassis and eucalyptus. Palate is medium+, with fine, slightly drying tannins. There's red currant and aniseed. A spine of acidity draws you to the slightly oak dominant finish.
Once revealed, the relatively cool vintage was thought to have played a part here. For drinking over the short term.
14% alc. Screw cap.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1983 Château Cheval Blanc

France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

Served blind.
Aged appearance - pale garnet, rust. Nose is incredible. Lifted. So aromatic. Delicate florals, smoke, olive, spice, truffle, liquorice. Definitely Bordeaux! Maybe a touch of Brett here for those sensitive to such things. In the end it contributed to the complexities. The palate is fine, maybe a touch austere, with earthy and savoury complexities. Leather, dried fruits, tobacco, aniseed, dried flowers. It's a Bordeaux pleasure chest. An acid line is still there. It just grew in the glass. A small pour the following day had just as much allure and attraction.
A real treat.
12% alc.
49% Cabernet Franc, 47% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Houghton Jack Mann

Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

Served blind. Decanted and served immediately.
Deep garnet. Lots of blackberry and cassis here. So much sweet, dark fruit. The palate is youthful, and tending towards being full bodied. Rich, deep fruited. Still fairly primary, especially in comparison to a recently consumed 1998 version. Didn't really show any regional characteristics. Would recommend a bit more cellar time.
14.5% alc. Cork.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 (1 Note)

1996 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon

Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina

Served blind. Decanted and served immediately.
Deep gold. Aromatics remind of orange peel, mandarin marmalade, and botrytis. There's a rich apricot toffee flavour on the palate, which still carries some lingering acidity to avoid any cloying. Luscious, full, lingering and sweet. Couldn't be anything but an Aussie sticky, and it was picked as Noble One. The age was surprising when revealed. This bottle had held up very well.
11.5% alc. Cork.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue